Mystic
by Regalia Riel
Summary: Keiko was just your average high school senior, until she fell asleep during school. Since awakening, her world has been plunged into a whirlwind of adventure. Can she figure out what her destiny truly is, or will the Darkness corrupt her heart?


_Welcome…We have been awaiting you…_

"Wh-who are you?"

_We are the ones who will guide you…We also need your assistance_

"Assistance? For what?"

_For over fifteen years, the forces of Darkness have been running around, causing panic and destruction to the many worlds. We have chosen you to be a denizen of Light, to help us combat the Darkness._

"Why me though? I'm just a high school student. What can I do?"

_Fear not, there are others like you. They have been defending the Light for three years. They have prevented the Door to Darkness from being opened and releasing Darkness everywhere. They too, are your age._

"Okay…but that's just three years. I still don't understand."

_As we said, fear not. We are here to guide you, but we will first ask you some questions to better help us understand you…_

"Okay…"

_First off, look around you._

As the mysterious voice said, three stone pillars rose up from below the green mural beneath the high schooler's feet. A shield, sword, and a rod materialized on each pillar.

_Now, choose one. Do you desire strength; power to defeat anyone and everything in your path, invincible courage, but bear the burden of knowing you may harm your beloved ones._

_Do you seek wisdom; the knowledge of inner strength, but a power of wonder and ruin…_

_Or do you seek the power of the guardian; kindness to all your friends, but the power to repel all?_

The high school student looked around before approaching the Dream Rod, reaching out to it, and felt a gust of cool wind circle around.

"Magic huh..? I think I'll go with this one."

_You have chosen the path of the Mystic. Magic spells will come to you easier than most._

The blue mural beneath the student's feet shattered, causing them to plummet into darkness. When they came too, they were standing on a red mural. Two beams of light shone up. The student shielded their eyes, before opening them again. A little black blob was in one, while a skinny, gray human stood in the other.

"What are those?" The student asked, clenching the rod tightly in their hands.

_The small black one is called a 'Shadow'. They are the most common form of Heartless, or beings of Darkness. They seek Hearts, to fill the emptiness from their previous heart._

"But why do they seek hearts? I know it's because they wish to fill the void, but how did they become a Heartless?"

_A Heartless is born when someone succumbs to the hands of Darkness. They lose their physical form, and take on the appearance the darkness gives them. The weaker the heart, the smaller the Heartless; the stronger the heart, the larger the Heartless. Be vigilant in your emotions; they are drawn to a negative heart. Alone, they are easy to fight, but in a swarm or horde, the battle becomes that much harder._

"And the gray, skinny thing?"

_This is a Nobody; they are the physical form of someone who has lost their Heart. A Nobody is born when someone with a strong heart loses their body, but their will lingers. The will begins to develop a mind of its own and begins to seek out a heart, to again, fill the void. There are some Nobodys who's physical form and will were so strong, that they take on the appearance of who they once were._

The student's face contorted into a frown. "That's terrible…I hope I never have this happen to me." A circle of light came from under their feet, moving swiftly to the edge and creating stairs to a door that was floating in midair.

_We have taught you all we can…go awake into your world and discover your new friends…_

As the student reached the top of their stairs, they looked back at the red mural. It depicted a picture of them, awake holding a staff, surrounded by three teen faces. The background was a hill and a sunset. A Tower stood atop the hill, and two indistinct figures next to it. They turned back around and opened the door, stepping into the blinding light.

* * *

><p>The student awoke with a start, sitting up in the chair. Their uniform was crumpled and wrinkled; the skirt had bunched up, the top two buttons had undone themselves and the ribbon had loosened, hanging from her neck. Wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth, she scratched her spiky hair. It was slightly spiked at the top, and fell into a long stream of blonde hair. The tips of the spikes were black. Golden eyes scanned the empty room before she pulled out her phone and checked the time.<p>

'_5:43… class was over twenty minutes ago…' _She sighed internally. Picking up her school bag and standing up straight, she pushed her chair in and exited the class room.

Standing at Twilight Station, she scrolled through her phone; checking any missed calls or texts, she found none. Slipping the phone back into her skirt pocket, her train had just pulled in and she boarded, sitting down and staring out the window.

'_An eternal sunset…at first, you'd think it'd be romantic; a sunset in the background as you kiss your lover, but after a while the concept goes stale.' _She mused dryly. The train arrived at her stop. She disembarked, and walked out the station. Standing in the wide area, she stared out over the ledge. The sunset sat perfectly on the horizon. A gentle breeze came and tousled her blonde locks. She closed her eyes in contentment, before picking her bag up and walking down the slope.

Children ran past her, laughing as they enjoyed their game of tag. She smiled. As she reached the bottom of the slope, she saw the part-time job bulletin board. Interested, she scanned over the jobs listed.

"Trash dumper, Ice Cream Server, Mail Deliverer…I think I'll do the Ice Cream one." She took the paper and sat on the rail by the board. She filled out the application and ran to the Ice Cream shop.

The elderly woman smiled at her. "Welcome deary, would you like some ice cream?"

She shook her head. "No, not today, but I would like to show you this; it's the application you posted on the board." She handed the elderly woman the filled out application. The shop keeper read it and a smile bloomed across her face.

"I'm happy to know that someone finally saw this. Now I can retire. You'll just be selling ice cream, as everything is all handmade, so no worrying about calling in shipments. The handmade flavor is what keeps the children and adults coming back. Thank you! Shop will open whenever you get here, seeing as it doesn't get busy anymore until the afternoon. Make sure you make enough over the weekends to last the following week. There's a recipe book inside that'll instruct you on how to make the ice cream correctly. Thank you so much, and don't worry; I'll stop by occasionally to see how you're doing." The old woman said, as she handed a key to the girl.

The woman exited the small shop, waved good bye and made her way home.

"Guess I'll close shop since it's late." She said, as she pulled down the metal shutters in front of the shop window, locking it afterwards.

She continued down the path, and down a small slope that led to the Sandlot. Walking across the sandlot, she made it to her apartment. Climbing the small flight of stairs to her apartment, 107, she unlocked her house and entered.

Her living room was simple and quaint; a black stool sitting in front of the island bar attached to her kitchen. A room was across the kitchen; her room. Her room was just as simple; a small bed, a desk for her studies, a wardrobe for her street clothes and school uniform, and a small bedside lamp. The lamp was interesting; it was a globe of floating water, surrounded in a chain of starfish.

She drew her black curtains over the window, making her room pitch black. She clapped once and her water-lamp came on, illuminating the room in a soft blue. Her bag was dropped onto her desk, along with the ice cream and house keys. Stripping out of her uniform and placing that set into the dirty pile, she slipped on her pajamas and collapsed onto her bed.

* * *

><p>She was startled awake by the sound of screaming outside her window. Jumping up, she drew the curtains and opened her window. The sight she was met with horrified her.<p>

People of Twilight Town were running around, as they were chased by black things. One person had tripped and fell, and the black thing attacked, causing the person's body to fade; a heart floating out of the body.

She covered her mouth; a sick expression crossing her face. Her golden eyes watered. Wrenching herself from the window, she tossed on some jeans, a pink half-shirt, and black boots. Grabbing her phone, she ran out her room and out her apartment building. She was determined to help the people; regardless of what it cost her.

She had made it to the sandlot, before a giant monster blocked her path. She turned around, but a similar one blocked her way as well. She cursed, as she realized that the monsters had her trapped.

Standing still between the two, she looked at both of them in caution. They both were dancing jovially at her predicament.

She slid her foot back, before taking a running start, jumping off the fat monster's belly and flipping over it. She landed, and kicked the thing forward. The monster stumbled and fell into its companion, knocking them both over.

"Hah, that's why you don't corner animals. They get testier." She mocked, running towards the people.

"Ahhh! H-help me!" came the frightened cry of a man. He was cowering on the ground under the bulletin board. It was a smaller one, so she figured she could take it, she then noticed the Struggle wand weapon lying at the ground. She quickly grabbed it. A rush of cool wind trailed up her arm.

_Breathe in…and listen to the voice inside you…_

A voice floated on the wind past her ears. She blinked before she aimed the toy weapon at the monster. She narrowed her eyes as she focused; a surge of heat coursed through her body before she felt it collect at the tip of the wand.

"FIRE!" she said, and a small ball of fire flew out the wand, hitting the monster and causing it to explode into nothing. The man stared awestruck at her, as he rose to to shaky legs.

"T-thank you! How did you do that?" he asked

"No time for questions, you need to get out of here. Haven't you noticed? Twilight Town is _dark. _We _NEVER _have a night time."

The man nodded, and ran, to what she presumed to be, the direction of his house.

'_At least he's safe…'_ Her mind reminded her. She ran on, taking the wand with her.

* * *

><p>She reached Twilight Tower Station. Everything was eerily quiet. As she neared the building, several monsters appeared, making a ring around her. She backed up, hand clutching her weapon tightly. She took aim at one, before she casted two fires, blowing it up into nothing. She repeated the process two more times, but began to feel a drain.<p>

"Why…am I so…tired?" She panted. She had only taken out three of the monsters, and there were at least twelve or thirteen left.

"It's because you're low on MP!" Came a boyish voice. The monsters around her all disappeared, each releasing a pink heart. She stared, as her savior stood up from his battle stance. The angry winds were blowing his hair every which way. It was crazy spikey, even more than her own hair.

"Here." He said as he tossed her a blue bottle. She opened it and drank it, feeling much better. Her mind had refocused, cleared and sharpened. She could feel a warm pricking in her head.

'_Must be the Fire spell…'_

She took the hand of her savior and was hoisted up. He smiled at her, before rubbing his nose.

"I'm Sora. Nice Fire spell casting, I can't cast that many before I get tired. What's your name?" The boy, Sora, introduced.

"My name's Keiko. Thanks for saving me Sora…What were those things?" Keiko asked, holding her Struggle Wand in both hands.

"Heartless. They're beings of Darkness that like to hunt hearts. My weapon, the key blade, frees those trapped hearts. Magic and regular weapons just destroy the heartless and hearts." He explained. Keiko felt a sharp pain in her head. Voices filled her in about the Heartless and Nobodies.

"I…dreamed about this…before. Some voices told me about them…what they are. You're part of the Light, right? There's more people my age too, right?" Keiko asked. Sora stared at her before smiling and nodding. "Yeah! My best friend Riku can wield a keyblade too, same for my girlfriend Kairi, though she does most of the healing with Donald. I don't like her fighting because she's a Princess of Heart, but she's fiery and can defend herself. "Sora explained. "My friend Goofy can also fight, but he uses his shield. He's awesome with it!"

Keiko nodded. "Let's go find your friends. I'm worried about my town…I don't want those things running around and taking more hearts. I already saw one do it, I'm not looking for more."

The pair ran down the slope, and into the square. A silver haired teen was fighting alongside a dog fighting with a shield.

"Riku, Goofy!" Sora yelled happily. He summoned his keyblade and jumped into the fray, attacking Heartless left and right. Keiko's gold eyes were following the silver hair, before a voice whispered in her head again. She felt unused energy bubbling in her chest. She aimed at the Heartless, and focused.

Energy crackled in her arm, sparking as it traveled down her arm and to the tip of her wand.

"THUNDER!" She shouted, as a drop of electricity hit a heartless, causing it to disperse into wisps of darkness. She casted two more Thunders, helping clear the last few Heartless. Keiko bounded up to the trio. She was slightly shorter than Sora, but staring next to the silver teen, she was easily a few inches short of him.

"This guy is Riku. He can use Darkness and Light to fight, though the Darkness is more a defensive means or a last-ditch effort. And that's Goofy. He's actually a Royal Guard." Sora introduced. Riku had short silver hair and pretty sea green eyes.

"Guess Sora found you and helped you. Nice to meet you." Riku said.

"Howdy there! Are you ok?" Goofy asked, as he handed me another blue bottle.

"Thank you Riku, Goofy. My name is Keiko. What's with the blue bottle?" She asked.

"The blue bottle is called an Elixer. It replenishes your magic…seeing as yours was low, I gave you a spare one." Goofy explained. Sora and Riku nodded.

"Goofy always has extra everything, just in case I or Donald get into a pinch. Riku can make his own Potions and Elixers. Kairi never has to worry about Elixers because her magic recharges just as fast as she uses it." Sora said. Keiko smiled and nodded. "I want to meet this Kairi and Donald now…"

The quartet made their way to a crack in the wall. Keiko was leading the way. "Something is telling me to go here…" She said, as she crawled through the hole.

"Thundara! Kairi, look out!" came a quack. Keiko, Sora, Riku and Goofy ran to the voices.

Kairi and Donald were fighting off Heartless and Nobodies.

"Reflect and Curaga!" Kairi said. A shield that took the attacks of both Heartless and Nobodies and reflected the damage back in a flurry of lights surrounded them. A small wreath of clovers surrounded Kairi and Donald, while a yellow bellflower appeared and showered them in a green mist. Riku and Sora began hacking and slashing at the enemies, while Keiko ran up to Kairi and Donald.

"Hi, I'm Keiko, and you're Kairi and Donald!" she introduced and she focused on a Fire spell for a Nobody that got too close. The redheaded female smiled over her shoulder at Keiko, "Nice to meet you!" The white duck below Keiko was busy casting another Thundara spell to properly introduce himself. It wasn't bothering Keiko in the slightest.

She casted another Thunder spell at the final Nobody, before it exploded into a puff of white. Keiko was feeling fine, and politely rejected the Elixer Kairi offered.

"Great that we know each other now, but we should really find that Keyhole. Any ideas Keiko?" Sora asked. Keiko stared at the mansion in the background. It was pulling to her.

"I might have one…"

As the group entered the old mansion, Keiko was exploring the ruins. The pillars were cracked and falling apart, the banisters on the stairs had fallen off, and the paint was chipping from the walls.

"I found this place on accident." Keiko explained as she climbed the stairs, the others right behind. She entered one room. It was completely untouched; the white walls of the room looked as if it wasn't messed up or dirtied. It looked brand new. Donald and Goofy sat in the two chairs located by the long table. Kairi sat down on the ottoman in front of the vanity, while Sora and Riku walked around the room.

Keiko had walked to the small wardrobe in the corner and opened it. She pulled out a charm from the bottom. It gave a brief shine, before the shine wanished. It was a metal star with a crown stamped into it. From two of its points, a heart hung from one while a cross hung from the other.

"This was a secret treasure I found while I explored this place. It held some value to me…Here." Keiko said as she handed Sora the charm. It glowed and floated up. Sora pulled out his keyblade and shot a beam of light at it. There was a distinct lock sound.

"Look!" Kairi exclaimed from the window.

The gray clouds the surrounded Twilight Town began to dissipate, revealing the familiar sunset hue Keiko was familiar with. She smiled fondly out the window.

"Thank you, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Goofy and Donald. Without you, I think my home would've…I don't know, disappeared maybe."

"No problem! We happened to be in the area when our friends Chip and Dale said that Twilight Town had turned gray. We decided to investigate, but the amount of Darkness in the air messed with the Gumi's teleportation system. When we tried to land, we were separated. That's when I saw you fighting the Heartless." Sora said. He attached the metal charm to his keyblade and it changed forms. The neck became flat and wide; crowns were carved into it, its teeth taking on three stars; two smaller ones and a larger one in the middle, the hilt was like a rapier's hand guard, and the chain ended with Keiko's charm.

"I'll call this 'Beginning's Struggle', since it's your charm, and you're carrying a Struggle Wand." Sora said. Keiko smiled before asking, "You're familiar with the Struggle tournament?"

Donald and Goofy chucked. "Yeap, he sure is! Last time we visited Twilight Town, Sora had entered the tournament and won. He accidentally dropped the trophy, causing the marbles to break off. His friends who live here have the other three, but Sora wears his blue one as another charm." Goofy explained. Keiko noticed the blue orb hanging under the crown chain he was wearing.

"Oh…well, I guess you guys'll be leaving now. Visit sometime."

Kairi frowned a little. "I'd really like it if you joined us…You just learned your magic spells, and if we left you here, I'd be worried about you."

"But who's going to protect Twilight Town?" Keiko argued. Riku spoke up, "You don't really have to worry about that. When a Keyblade wielder seals a Keyhole in a world, it stops darkness from entering. The only time you'll have to worry about Heartless is if someone with negative emotions or intentions is here or if Sora, Kairi or I have out Keyblades out. They're drawn to them."

Keiko quieted down as she stared at the five. She pulled at one of her spiked fringes.

'_Twilight Town will be safe…for now…and these guys could teach me how to use my magic spells better…Ok, I'll leave with them.' _Keiko thought.

"Ok, I'll leave with you guys."

Smiles broke out on everyone's faces. Keiko felt the wind knocked out of her as Kairi, Sora, Donald, and Goofy hugged her. She hugged back the best she could. Riku was off to the side; his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

Keiko's golden eyes sparkled happily.

_Good job on finding the others of Light…Travel with them and forge unbreakable bonds…We will always guide you Keiko, just listen to your heart…_


End file.
